VENERABLES
VENERABLE
Ven"er*a*ble, a. Etym: [L. venerabilis: cf. F. vénérable.]
1. Capable of being venerated; worthy of veneration or reverence;
deserving of honor and respect; -- generally implying an advanced
age; as, a venerable magistrate; a venerable parent.
He was a man of eternal self-sacrifice, and that is always venerable.
De Quincey.
Venerable men! you have come down to us from a former generation. D.
Webster.
2. Rendered sacred by religious or other associations; that should be
regarded with awe and treated with reverence; as, the venerable walls
of a temple or a church.
Note: This word is employed in the Church of England as a title for
an archdeacon. In the Roman Catholic Church, venerable is applied to
those who have attained to the lowest of the three recognized degrees
of sanctity, but are not among the beatified, nor the canonized.
– Ven"er*a*ble*ness, n.
– Ven"er*a*bly, adv.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition